# "Mondegreens" where you are utterly convinced that you are right, and the rest of the world is crazy **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 21, 2012, 2:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672 "2012-11-21T02:12:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 5:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/21 "2012-11-21T17:07:32Z")
I’m positive the lyric from the theme to the show Good Times is “Hangin’ and a Jivin’” rather than “Hanging in a chow line.” ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/22 "2012-11-21T17:24:25Z")
> [@Quimby](#): > > I’m positive the lyric from the theme to the show Good Times is “Hangin’ and a Jivin’” rather than “Hanging in a chow line.” You’re close. I resurrected an old thread last year to provide the evidence. [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14475670#post14475670](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?p=14475670#post14475670) ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/23 "2012-11-21T17:27:37Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Sorry. But I can’t hear “FLying Spoon” in that song, either. > Not being a big CCR fan, I don’t know if they did love songs or not. But “Out my Back Door” is still ubniquitous. Nah, **Biffy’s** right. It’s “flying spoon.” I’ve always heard it that way. I just took a quick listen to confirm it. > [@Scumpup](#): > > The mirrors on the ceiling at the Hotel California **depict** champagne on ice. It’s “Mirrors on the ceiling, the pink champagne on ice.” And before anybody mentions “Cherry Bomb,” it’s “That’s when a sport was a sport.” ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/24 "2012-11-21T17:31:20Z")
> [@](#): > > Nah, Biffy’s right. It’s “flying spoon”. I’ve always heard it that way. I just took a quick listen to confirm it. Well, _I_ can’t hear “flying spoon”, and I’ve listened to it innumerable times. And, when I had no idea of what the lyrics were, thought that it was “glide-wheel spoon”, so it’s not determined by my expectations. And my wife, independent of me, came to the same conclusion about what the lyrics were. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/25 "2012-11-21T17:51:42Z")
**Pink Floyd** ’s _Point Me at the Sky_ is dreadfully mangled and inconsistent throughout on all of the lyrics sites. It doesn’t help that the band changed up the lyrics fairly frequently when live. I have a bootleg of a live version with very clear vocals and I’ve come to disagree almost completely with most of the lyrics sites. Some examples: Lyrics sites: “Hey Eugene, this is Henry Mclean” or “Hey Jean, this is Henry McClean” Me: “Paging Mr Henry McClean” …and on from there. It would violate board rules for me to give my version of the entire song 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/26 "2012-11-21T17:59:20Z")
I heard it as “Paging Mrs. Henry McClean”. Cause it was from the era when women were sometimes still known as Mrs (Husband’s name). Of course your three examples make more sense (but don’t sound as similar to the actual sounds they’re singing.) ---
**Author:** ![Scumpup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce73a5/32.png) [@Scumpup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scumpup)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/27 "2012-11-21T18:25:20Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > Nah, **Biffy’s** It’s “Mirrors on the ceiling, the pink champagne on ice.” Not unless you have confirmation of that from the authors, it isn’t. I’m sure you’re a wonderful person with all sorts of redeeming qualities but, in this matter, I don’t give a wet fart what you think you hear. ---
**Author:** ![Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a183cd/32.png) [@Barkis\_is\_Willin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Barkis_is_Willin)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/28 "2012-11-21T18:35:29Z")
I always thought it was flying spoon. _All Right Now_ by Free. I refuse to belive the line is not “Let’s move before they raise the fuckin’ rent.” Granted, I don’t think it makes any more sense than “parking rate,” but it sure sounds right. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/29 "2012-11-21T18:56:44Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Not unless you have confirmation of that from the authors, it isn’t. I’m sure you’re a wonderful person with all sorts of redeeming qualities but, in this matter, I don’t give a wet fart what you think you hear. That’s fine. I’d prefer it if you kept your farts to yourself, thenkyewverymuch. ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/30 "2012-11-21T19:02:11Z")
Some of you folks need to go back and read the title of the thread: > [@](#): > > “Mondegreens” where you are utterly convinced that you are right, and the rest of the world is crazy Yes, I know that the posted lyrics say “flying spoon”. I’m sure **cochrane** knows what the supposedly correct lyrics are. _We Know All This_. But that’s not the point of this thread. ---
**Author:** ![GargoyleWB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gargoylewb/32/199_2.png) [@GargoyleWB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GargoyleWB)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/31 "2012-11-21T19:07:13Z")
> [@CalMeacham](#): > > Yes, I know that the posted lyrics say “flying spoon”. I’m sure **cochrane** knows what the supposedly correct lyrics are. _We Know All This_. But that’s not the point of this thread. I agree that you are all crazy. It is of course “flying school”, with 1920’s-style barnstormers among the fantastical creatures. I’m sure of it. And I missed the edit for the ‘s’ in my previous post. Agree that it is “Mrs” Henry McClean, with the song’s subject rocketeer inviting his sweetheart to come with him. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 8:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/32 "2012-11-21T20:30:29Z")
At the end of Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”, I always heard: _I tell you to end your life. I wish I could, but it’s too late._ All the online lyric sites seem to have: _I tell you to enjoy life. I wish I could, but it’s too late._ If my version is not what Ozzy actually sang, it should have been. It is a lot more emotionally powerful, a lot more in the despairing spirit of the rest of the song (and the Sabbath oeuvre in general), _and_ it scans better. ---
**Author:** ![njtt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ecd19e/32.png) [@njtt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/njtt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/33 "2012-11-21T20:41:23Z")
> [@Leaffan](#): > > In The Beatles “Get Back” almost every web site has “sweet Loretta Martin” as the lyrics. But for the life of me I swear it’s “sweet Loretta Modern.” A Liverpudlian would not pronounce Martin like Modern. Martin would sound more like Ma-Tin. I think you are right. Personally, I originally heard it as “Martin”, but I am fairly sure I have seen it given as “Modern” somewhere fairly official, and it makes a lot of sense in context. > [@Justin\_Bailey](#): > > [So does everyone else.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=663864&highlight=girly+action) Not everyone by any means, not everyone in that thread, and certainly never for me. ---
**Author:** ![Damfino](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Damfino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Damfino)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 8:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/34 "2012-11-21T20:53:42Z")
> [@Scumpup](#): > > Not unless you have confirmation of that from the authors, it isn’t. I’m sure you’re a wonderful person with all sorts of redeeming qualities but, in this matter, I don’t give a wet fart what you think you hear. I got the “pink champagne” from an album cover which had all the contained lyrics. This was around 1980. ---
**Author:** ![Leaffan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leaffan/32/299_2.png) [@Leaffan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leaffan)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/35 "2012-11-21T21:02:33Z")
> [@Damfino](#): > > I got the “pink champagne” from an album cover which had all the contained lyrics. This was around 1980. And, [here](http://www.glennfreyonline.com/images/hcinsert1.jpg) it is, about 3/4 of the way down on the right. “Mirrors on the ceiling. **The pink** champagne on ice.” ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 9:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/36 "2012-11-21T21:26:54Z")
Nice find, **Leaffan**. That should end a long standing SD debate. ---
**Author:** ![Irishman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b487fb/32.png) [@Irishman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Irishman)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 10:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/37 "2012-11-21T22:59:19Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > 1. Rush, “[Fly By Night](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17t4bSaMvl4)”. > > [snip] > > The problem there is that, at full volume with headphones on, there’s absolutely no “My” sound at the start of that last line, and in addition there’s a definite “f” sound at the start of the second syllable. The third problem is that there are only 4 syllables before the “and”, not 5. Geddy almost certainly is instead singing > > _She feels it coming and I just can’t pretend_ > > Which means he’s (well, Neal Peart) actually talking about two different people-the former lover he is leaving, and the new one waiting at the end of his journey. Firmly disagree. While early iterations of the line do seem to drop the “my”, you can clearly hear the line in the version of the song you link. At the end of the song, around 3:08, they go into repeating that line. The My gets more clearly enunciated, the line is more clear. There’s no f sound. “She feels it coming” doesn’t fit the song. He’s singing about realizing the situation is never going to work out, it’s time to move on. “My ship isn’t coming and I just can’t pretend” that is it coming. Waiting for my ship to come in also happens to be a well-worn turn of phrase for waiting for the big payoff, for success, “to win the lottery”. He’s clearly referring to that phrase. > [@](#): > > 1. Renaissance, “[Can You Hear Me?](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-q2e1A_Rg4)” It really sounds like “winging” to me, and as pointed out, that is a perfectly poetic word meaning flying. > [@cochrane](#): > > “Takin’ Care of Business” by BTO. The lyrics sites all have the second verse starting with > > If it were easy as fishin’, you could be a musician > > Yet I am utterly convinced that Randy Bachman sings it as “There’s work easy as fishin’” I have heard many recordings of the song, from studio recordings to various live versions. I have even heard a slowed down jazz recording of the song by Bachman. In every single one I hear “There’s work easy as fishin’.” I agree your line makes more sense. He’s clearly telling the audience they should be a musician like he is. The “if it were” line suggests he’s telling the audience they could be a musician if it were that easy, but it’s not that easy so they can’t be a musician. “There’s work easy as” tells the audience that being a musician is simple and relaxing, they can get into the game if they just realize it. It fits much better with the rest of the song. > [@GargoyleWB](#): > > I agree that you are all crazy. It is of course “flying school”, with 1920’s-style barnstormers among the fantastical creatures. I’m sure of it. Wait, it’s not “flying squirrel”? 😉 Hey, that works with all the other animals. But I’ll buy “flying school”. > [@x-ray\_vision](#): > > Nice find, **Leaffan**. That should end a long standing SD debate. Liner notes aren’t always right. There’s one for a Rush song, “Free Will”, the line goes \*You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice. \* \*If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice. \* It’s very clear in the recording. However, my copy of the liner notes says something like \*You can choose a ready guide in some celestial voice. \* \*If you still choose not to decide, you cannot have made a choice. \* I’ll go verify that, but that’s what I recall. However, in this instance I’ll take the liner notes saying “the pink champaigne on ice” over “depict” or dropping the “the”. In the common radio version there’s clearly a beat before “pink”. Sounds like “and” to me, but I’ll take “the”. Though the unplugged version drops the lead in beat. ---
**Author:** ![Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/earl_snake-hips_tucker/32/3269_2.png) [@Earl\_Snake-Hips\_Tucker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Earl_Snake-Hips_Tucker)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 11:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/38 "2012-11-21T23:01:25Z")
[You are the fish dreamer’s only dream.](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=671111) ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/39 "2012-11-21T23:14:41Z")
> [@John\_DiFool](#): > > 1. Rush, “[Fly By Night](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17t4bSaMvl4)”. > > Almost all sites that I’ve encountered have the chorus as > > _Fly by night, away from here > Change my life again > Fly by night goodbye my dear > My ship isn’t coming and I just can’t pretend_ > > The problem there is that, at full volume with headphones on, there’s absolutely no “My” sound at the start of that last line, and in addition there’s a definite “f” sound at the start of the second syllable. The third problem is that there are only 4 syllables before the “and”, not 5. Geddy almost certainly is instead singing > > _She feels it coming and I just can’t pretend_ Nope. Watch this one where you can see his lips, at least later in the song. He’s saying “My ship.” [![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/0lpVjXwAfm0/hqdefault.jpg?sqp=-oaymwEmCOADEOgC8quKqQMa8AEB-AG-AoAC8AGKAgwIABABGHIgTyhFMA8=&rs=AOn4CLBxjeBkUZMTVAyNuEXmTl3MKXuIoQ "Rush - Fly By Night") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0lpVjXwAfm0) ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2012, 11:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672/40 "2012-11-21T23:27:21Z")
Jimmy Buffett’s “Why Don’t We Get Drunk” - all the lyrics sites, and even some actual cites, have him singing “They say you are a snuff queen / Honey, I don’t think that’s true”. Well, sorry, parrotheads, “snub queen” makes more sense, both linguistically and contextually. So I’m sticking with it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/mondegreens-where-you-are-utterly-convinced-that-you-are-right-and-the-rest-of-the-world-is-crazy/641672.md?page=3)